\u201cIt was something unlike I\u2019ve ever seen before,\u201d says Daniel Blank, managing director of public programs for the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation. \u201cWhat we pride ourselves with this series is giving people an up close experience with authors, and it doesn\u2019t get any more up close than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blank took the helm of the Author Events series last year, bringing novelists and memorists to speak alongside a line up of politicians, historians, scientists and classicists.<\/p>\n
He arranged for Governor Josh Shapiro to interview Congressman Jim Clyburn about Clyburn\u2019s book, The First Eight : A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation<\/a>. Ray Didinger, author of the Eagles Encyclopedia<\/a>, sat down to chat with Eagles broadcaster Merrill Reese. The Citizen co-hosted Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and Camden County native Trymaine Lee, who took the stage with leaders from local, gun violence prevention organizations<\/a> ahead of the discussion of his book A Thousand Ways to Die: The True Cost of Violence on Black Life in America<\/a>, with WURD host and Citizen contributor James Peterson.<\/p>\n Last year, the library sold more than 5,000 tickets across 25 diverse author events. The Philadelphia Citizen, for the first time, served as a media partner.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most important part of this series is that we can reach every member of the Philadelphia community,\u201d Blanks says. \u201cThere truly is something for everyone. If you\u2019re interested in music, if you\u2019re interested in history, if you\u2019re interested in science, if memoir is your thing, if fiction is your thing \u2014 there is something in there for you.\u201d<\/p>\n Author events in 2026 <\/p>\n The Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation last week announced their lineup for the 2026 Spring Author Events Series.<\/a> As with last year, Blank has strived to bring in writers in a diverse array of genres and subject matters. He\u2019s also been thinking about America\u2019s 250th anniversary,<\/a> centered here in Philadelphia, and how the series interacts with the broader festivities in the city, how the events can bring people together, in a meaningful and timeless way.<\/p>\n In an era when our lives are increasingly dominated by screens, Blank hopes the series can bring people together to talk about books.<\/p>\n \u201cThe written word is such an important vehicle for connecting us,\u201d Blank says. \u201cWe are constantly siloed in various ways. Increasingly, people aren\u2019t connecting with each other, but they\u2019re just staring downwards and reading an iPhone. I think these events are opportunities to counteract that.\u201d<\/p>\n Check out a few highlights from this year\u2019s list below. Blank still hopes to add a few more events to this spring\u2019s schedule, but you can see the current spring line up here. <\/a>All events take place at the Free Library\u2019s Parkway Central Branch: 1901 Vine Street.<\/p>\n Where We Keep the Light<\/a> by PA Governor Josh Shapiro <\/p>\n January 24 at 3pm<\/a><\/p>\n Governor Shapiro returns to discuss Where We Keep the Light: Stories from a Life of Service. The part memoir, part political commentary on the divisiveness of our times contains stories of his family, his faith, and what he\u2019s learned as a politician from knocking on doors and listening to the concerns of ordinary Pennsylvanians.<\/p>\n Seats in the main auditorium are sold out for the event, but the library is still selling overflow and standing room only tickets.<\/p>\n University: A Reckoning<\/a> by Lee Bollinger <\/p>\n January 28 at 7pm,<\/a><\/p>\n One of the most topical books in the line-up, former Columbia University President Lee Bollinger\u2019s University: A Reckoning looks at President Donald Trump\u2019s attacks on universities and the role institutions of higher education play in shaping \u2014 and protecting \u2014 our democracy.<\/p>\n Bollinger will be in conversation with MS NOW host and Citizen board member Ali Velshi<\/a> to discuss the challenges journalists and universities face, and why we need to protect both to ensure the continuation of American democracy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a really important title at a moment when higher education is facing any number of crises,\u201d Blank says.<\/p>\n The Book Thief (20th Anniversary Edition)<\/a> by Markus Zusak <\/p>\n March 4, at 7pm<\/a><\/p>\n When it was released in 2005, The Book Thief quickly captured the hearts of Americans \u2014 and the world at large. Set in Nazi Germany, the novel is narrated by Death and tells the story of Liesel Meminger, a young girl, and her life during the war after her separation from her mother and the death of her brother.<\/p>\n The 20th anniversary edition features insights into Zusak\u2019s writing process, including pages from his writing notebook, sketches and marked-up pages from the manuscript.<\/p>\n Black Power Scorecard<\/a> by Andre M. Perry <\/p>\n April 14, 7pm<\/a><\/p>\n Economist and Brookings Institution fellow Andre M. Perry set out to quantify how much power Black Americans have \u2014 in terms of wealth, social mobility, health and other economic factors alongside democratic freedoms. In the end, he poses solutions that could help close structural inequalities and reduce racial wealth and health gaps.<\/p>\n Perry will be in conversation with WURD host and Citizen contributor Dr. James Peterson.<\/a> The event is sponsored by The Philadelphia Citizen, WURD and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.<\/p>\n Jefferson on Race: A Reader<\/a> by Annette Gordon-Reed <\/p>\n May 7 at 7pm<\/a><\/p>\n Historian and Harvard University professor Annette Gordon-Reed dives into the public and private writings of Thomas Jefferson to dissect the founding father\u2019s complex and contradictory thoughts on race and slavery in America. She considers Jefferson\u2019s letters, plantation records alongside writings by people who were enslaved at his plantation, Monticello, to create an intricate portrait of a man and the factors that shaped his views on race.<\/p>\n In a year when Jefferson \u2014 author of the Declaration of Independence \u2014 will likely be the subject of many events in Philadelphia, Gordon-Reed\u2019s talk at the Free Library will dive into one of the most hotly contested parts of his legacy. She will be in conversation with Patrick Spero, CEO of the American Philosophical Society and author of four books on the American revolution.<\/p>\n America, U.S.A.<\/a> by Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. <\/p>\n
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